Received: by bu-cs.BU.EDU (5.58/4.7) id AA22526; Fri, 20 Jan 89 02:03:57 EST Message-Id: <8901200703.AA22526@bu-cs.BU.EDU> Date: Fri, 20 Jan 89 1:43:52 EST From: The Moderator Reply-To: TELECOM@bu-cs.BU.EDU Subject: TELECOM Digest V9 #21 To: TELECOM@bu-cs.bu.edu TELECOM Digest Fri, 20 Jan 89 1:43:52 EST Volume 9 : Issue 21 Today's Topics: Bad pay-phone experience while travelling Private Pay phones Re: New way to donate money Query about Telebit SMART Parks Question Regarding 'Cut Through' Codes Re: Excuses instead of info [Moderator's Note: (Still gagging from bad tasting medicine) Another heavy day with the mail, so a second part will be issued a few minutes after this one, and it will include the 'area code program' written in C language discussed by Carl Moore. P. Townson] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To: comp-dcom-telecom@decwrl.dec.com From: crew@polya.stanford.edu (Roger Crew) Subject: Bad pay-phone experience while travelling Date: 20 Jan 89 00:24:43 GMT Here's one for you: This one was at a payphone in Milford, PA. Evidently, the area is serviced by ConTel. So I have a US Sprint calling card that I want to use to make a call to NJ: Tried 950-1033. Doesn't work, but then, I didn't really expect it to. Tried 800-877-8000. Recording ``your call cannot be completed as dialed. Check the number and try again or stay on the line and a customer service representative will be with you shortly...'' Well, I wasn't completely sure about the 800 number so... Try the 800 number again... Same recording. Ok this time I'll wait for customer service. ``Hello. MCI customer service.'' ``...actually I'm trying to place a call on US Sprint.'' ``... oh, this is MCI.'' I then explained the problem ``well, the number we have for US Sprint is 800-531-0008'' ``Ok, thanks, bye.'' Try 800-531-0008. Recording ``The number you have dialed 800-531-0008 has been changed. ``The new number is 800-877-8000.'' Great, so I was right the first time. Back to the MCI people. ``Well maybe you can try US Sprint customer service at 800-531-4646'' Try 800-531-4646. ``The number you have dialed 800-531-4646 has been changed. ``The new number is 800-877-4646.'' Try 800-877-4646. ``your call cannot be completed as dialed. Check the number and try again or stay on the line and a customer service representative will be with you shortly...'' There's a pattern here. Back to MCI. ``looks like the numbers you have are out of date, and the new ones don't work. Maybe YOU could dial the call for me.'' ``...well, I'm just a customer service rep; you need an operator for that... I know,... maybe you can check the number with 800 directory assistance'' Well, I suppose it's worth a try. Try 800-555-1212 No problem getting through, but... ``Sorry we don't list LD access numbers.'' Well, f**k you very much... I know. If I need an operator, I'll use an operator: Dial 0 Explain the situation. ``...now I can't seem to dial this number. I know it's the correct number --- it's supposed to work nationwide; I just can't seem to reach it from this phone. Do you suppose you could connect me?'' ``Sure, no problem.'' Operator dials the number. Same recording. ``Well gosh, I can't seem to get through either... You need to talk to a long distance operator.'' ``How do I get a long distance operator?'' Dial 00 Explain the situation. ``...do you suppose you could connect me?'' ``Sure, no problem.'' Operator dials the number. I find myself listening to the same recording as before. Unfortunately, the operator has long since gotten off the line by the time the recording comes on... Dial 00 Different operator. Explain again. ``...do you suppose you could stay on the line this time?'' Operator dials. We get the same recording. ``I'm stumped.'' ``Well, can you connect me with a US Sprint operator?'' ``No.'' ``How about an AT&T operator?'' ``You're talking to an AT&T operator.'' ``Oh, sorry, I thought you were MCI... Anyway, what can I do?'' ``You're travelling right?'' ``Yup.'' ``Go down the road about 20 miles until you're out of that service area and try again...'' Bottom line: You can't get there from here. Period. Didn't this all work five years ago? -- Roger Crew Copyright 1988 -- All Rights Reserved. (so there!) Usenet: {arpa gateways, decwrl, uunet, rutgers}!polya.stanford.edu!crew Internet: crew@polya.Stanford.EDU ------------------------------ To: TELECOM@bu-cs.bu.edu Subject: Private Pay phones Date: Thu, 19 Jan 89 14:46:34 -0500 From: Joel B Levin This is the first one I've seen -- a two column by two inch display ad in this morning's Boston Globe business section: ---------- ATTENTION PAYPHONE LOCATION OWNERS . Highest Commission On All 0+ Long Distance Calls . $25 - $100 Signing Bonus Per Payphone . Direct To You -- Never Available Before . Keep Your "Bell" Payphone Recent Justice Dept. ruling lets YOU choose your 0+ long distance service. By selecting ITI on your ballot, you will receive the most per call revenues monthly, in addition to your present Bell Commissions. Call or write: CTI PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS* Pay Telephone Sales & Service [gives street address.] [gives 800 and 617 area code telephone numbers.] *Divison of CTI Inducstries, Inc. [Text accompanied by photograph of a pay phone] ---------- [Quoted verbatim, typos and "[]" material mine, capitalization theirs.] /JBL ------------------------------ To: telecom@bu-cs.bu.edu Subject: Re: New way to donate money Date: Thu, 19 Jan 89 09:16:39 PST From: dgc@math.ucla.edu A few more quick comments: 1. In California, the state PUC did order the telcos to allow 976 blocking and initially they charged $2.00 per line for the "service". I discussed this rather extensively with the PUC attorney who handled the matter. The telcos didn't want to do the blocking! I know nothing about other states. 2. When we had finally were able to have 976 numbers blocked, our local telco (General Telephone) informed us, IN WRITING, that, pursuant to Federal law, it was not blocking out-of-state, long-distance 976 numbers. Whether some individual long-distance services do so, I don't know. At the moment, I have NO WAY of blocking 900 calls and fairly expensive ones are now being advertised. Look at the TV commercials around 4:00 am for the $1.00 per minute 900 party lines! 3. The reply to the comment, "What is so hard about calling your service rep and saying you refuse to pay for something?" is easy. a. You dial the 800 number for the service rep (General Telephone has centralized the service). b. You wait 2 minutes until someone answers. c. You wait another 3 minutes until the call is transferred to a person who handles your type of account. d. You dither and bargain, get questioned, etc. and finally, maybe, if you are trusted, the calls are deleted from the bill (in the case when he had 976 calls deleted, we were asked to write a Formal Letter of Request to a Mrs. X of the telco for this deletion, and we did so). In some cases, occuring to close friends of ours the telco has simply refused to delete calls, and it has taken lengthy negotiation with the PUC to have that done (turned out it was a "bug" in the billing system). e. You get the next month's bill and find that it was done all wrong. It's easy to waste a great deal of time. Once again I reiterate. If the telco's are going into the general billing service, like Visa, Mastercard, etc., (And note that there's no particular reason that you shouldn't be able to buy theater tickets, airline tickets, automobiles, rent cars, reserve hotel rooms, etc., using 976 or 900 calls) then they should be subject to the same regulations that these other operations are, including the various kinds of recourse which protect the customer--the card companies must refuse to pay companies when the customer so requests, etc. and failure to pay charges for other than telco services should have no effect on telco service. This implies that the billing should be separate, so that the charges can be distinguished. dgc David G. Cantor Department of Mathematics University of California at Los Angeles Internet: dgc@math.ucla.edu UUCP: ...!{randvax, sdcrdcf, ucbvax}!ucla-cs!dgc ------------------------------ To: comp-dcom-telecom@cs.utexas.edu From: nth!loyd@cs.utexas.edu (Loyd Blankenship) Subject: Query about Telebit Date: 16 Jan 89 13:36:29 GMT I have been reading about the wonders of the Telebit, and was curious as to the availability of software for the PC to run a BBS with it. I'd like to be able to use the modem with my Amiga for getting news, and run a BBS with it on my AT clone. Currently I'm using Wayne Bell's WWIV 3.xx software. Is the Telebit compatible with standard AT-style Hayes commands? Loyd Blankenship cs.utexas.edu!nth!loyd (UUCP) Nth Graphics Ltd Austin, TX Disclaimers, etc... ------------------------------ To: att!comp-dcom-telecom From: harvard!gatech!cbnews.ATT.COM!alh (Al Housel) Subject: SMART Parks Date: 19 Jan 89 20:11:40 GMT I have been reading about the development of smart office parks designed to have all of the telecommunications capacity required for current and future tenants. Does anyone have any information on SMART parks? I would be interested to learn of anyone taking part in this type of office development to that I may contact for mor information. Al Housel ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jan 89 12:57:02 EST From: dileo@BRL.MIL To: telecom@bu-cs.bu.edu Subject: Question regarding 'cut through' codes I have just one question concerning the information contained in the Guide to NA Area Codes. Immediately before the glossary, "cut through dialing" is mentioned. This is a technique which I like to use, particularly when my primary carrier is busy or suffering from sunspots or the like. What I would like to know is, What are all of the cut through codes which one can use to specify a carrier for your call. The only one which I know of is 10288, which gives you an AT&T connection. Also, thanks for the copy of the guide. --John DiLeo-Lopez ------------------------------ To: comp-dcom-telecom@decwrl.dec.com From: avsd!childers (Richard Childers) Subject: Re: Excuses instead of info Date: 16 Jan 89 23:24:51 GMT In article mcgp1!donn@beaver.cs.washington.edu (Donn Pedro) writes: >If I gave out the ringback codes to everyone who asked it would >not be available for our use for testing. People used it to >busy out their phones so as not to be disturbed. Can you document this, or is this what your supervisor told you to say ? > Donn F Pedro {the known world}!uw-beaver!tikal!mcgp1!donn -- richard ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest *********************